ATDC Members Dominate at Startup Riot

When it comes to pitching business before an audience of peers, investors and judges, ATDC members proved they can compete with the best of them yesterday.

Member companies took three of the top five spots at Startup Riot 2012 and made up nearly half of the exclusive participant list, proving ATDC’s reputation as the hub for technology entrepreneurship in Georgia. The all-day event featured presentations by 30 of the region’s premier startups. Entrepreneurs spent three minutes pitching their businesses, then took three minutes of questioning from a four-judge panel. Audience members were able to help pick the winners.

ATDC’s own viaCycle took the top prize, which includes 4.5 hours of meetings with the region’s top angel investors, a $25,000 cash investment, nearly $50,000 in services and a chance to win a $100,000 cash grant. Kyle Azevedo, viaCycle CEO, said participating in Startup Riot provides great value to any early-stage company.

“The atmosphere and strict presentation rules force you to hone a razor sharp pitch, and the audience is a diverse cross-section of investors, unique companies and really smart people,” he said. “The connections we made during the event will serve viaCycle long into the future. Plus, we simply had a great time and got to be inspired by amazing ideas.”

Member SalesLoft earned second place, winning four hours of investment meetings and almost $24,000 in services for their successful pitch.

“I’ve been to a lot of startup events but never anything like Startup Riot,” said Kyle Porter, founder of SalesLoft. “The energy, community support and quality of attendees exceeded our expectations. We’re honored to receive our award and are confident that we’ll benefit many times over from participating in this event!”

Rounding out the top five finishers were Body Boss Fitness, ATDC member CubeVibe and Driverly.

Congratulations to all of the current and former ATDC members who rocked the Tabernacle yesterday, including Badgy, CallRail, Evoca, ExtraFeet, GetOne Rewards, HugeCity, Kanjus/Jajavy, Scholrly, Synkup, Team Fenom and We&Co.